Description

1795 Small Eagle Five, VF35Rare BD-10 Die Marriage

1795 $5 Small Eagle, BD-10, R.5, VF35 PCGS. Bass-Dannreuther
Die State c/a. There are 12 Small Eagle 1795 half eagle varieties,
most of which are rare or extremely rare. BD-10 is seldom seen,
with only 40 to 50 examples believed known in all grades. This die
marriage is easily identified by its reverse, which is seen here in
its only use. The base of the second T in STATES is recut, and the
rightmost two leaves on the branch are fused together. The
typically seen die state is cracked from the rim along the right
side of the final A in AMERICA, although this piece is uncracked,
confirming Dannreuther's assessment that a perfect die state
"should exist, as this is the first use of the reverse die."